An antique, Sicilian folk art cart auctioned for $2,000 in California on March 17.

The hand painted cart is highly decorated with military scenes as well as regionally symbolic patterns and emblems. It remains in excellent condition despite having been created in the early 19th century.

The beautiful antique cart has been elaborately hand painted with regionally emblematic battle scenes

Such carts generally fail to achieve more than $1,000 at auction. The sale price in this instance is testament to the unusually fine decoration on show, as well as the scarcity of any equivalent cart following an export ban.

Considered national treasures, folk art carts seldom appear at auction as they are no longer permitted to be exported from their native Sicily.

This example was exported to Chicago in 1995 and was offered from a private collection at California Auctioneers and Appraisers.

Here at Paul Fraser Collectibles we also have a wealth of unique collectibles in stock.

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